One Shot too many
by Falcons-Tears
Summary: AU: It hadn't even been the first time that Eliot had done such a thing. No, it really hadn't been the first time that Eliot Spencer had taken a bullet that had been intended for Sam Ford... but it might be the last...
1. Prologue

**A/N:** Okay, please, please don't kill me for this story, because I totally have too many stories that need to be updated, but this plot bunny just wouldn't leave me alone o.O

I really, really hope that you will like it and comments would be most appreciated *smiles shyly*

And the title will probably change... not sure yet...

And please keep in mind that English isn't my native language...

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**This story is totally AU, because Sam is alive in the story and so the team coming together will be under a little different circumstances, which will be explained throughout the story *sheepish smile***

**It is set somewhere in the middle of season two, just in case you're wondering *g***

**.**

**Summary:** AU: And it hadn't even been the first time that Eliot had done such a thing. No, it really hadn't been the first time that Eliot Spencer had taken a bullet that had been intended for Sam Ford... but it might be the last...

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**Disclaimer:** None of the Leverage characters belong to me and I just borrowed them for this little story... this story doesn't mean to offend anybody… this is just for fun… and not for money either...

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><p><strong>One Shot too many<strong>

**Prologue**

* * *

><p>.<p>

"Don't worry Parker, he'll make it through. I mean, he's like superman just without the costume."

Alec Hardison sat on a hard plastic chair in the small hospital room, his eyes darting between the bed where a man lay, pale, perfectly still and hooked up to too many machines to assure anyone and the young blonde woman on his left.

Sophie Devereaux, who sat in a chair beside Hardison, her hands folded in her lap ran a hand through her hair and then she looked at Parker too, who was sitting curled up on the window sill, her head resting on the knees she had drawn up to her chest.

She hadn't moved from her place ever since Eliot Spencer had been brought into the room after he had come out of surgery.

And she didn't even seem to acknowledge Hardison's words. She seemed to be lost in her own little world, probably somewhere in her happy place with the man in the bed absolutely healthy, growling at her when she stole something from his kitchen, before spitting out an annoyed, yet affectionate "there's something wrong with you".

.

And Nathan Ford couldn't really blame her, because he wished for such a happy place too.

He looked at the man lying in the hospital bed, pale, not moving, only the rising and falling of his chest a sign that he was still alive.

It didn't look natural for Eliot Spencer, a man so full of life and so strong, beating the odds countless times so that they had all thought him to be invincible.

But they had found out that he wasn't.

Bullets could hurt him.. the one that had damaged his lung would maybe even kill him.

And Nate hated to admit it, but it was his fault, his fault because he had been distracted on the job and Eliot had gone in to correct the mistake he had made.

Eliot had taken the bullet that was meant for the person that meant the most in the world for Nathan Ford.

The person that sat curled up on his lap, sleeping after having cried himself into it, begging for his Uncle Spencer to wake up.

Ford's eyes traveled to the bed again, his eyes a little unfocused and furiously Nathan blinked away the tears. He wouldn't cry, not now, he couldn't. He needed to be strong.

He needed to be strong for the young boy currently sleeping in his lap.

And he had to be strong for Eliot in the hospital bed, because that was the least he owed to Eliot after what he had done, after he had taken that bullet...

And it hadn't even been the first time that Eliot had done such a thing.

No, it really hadn't been the first time that Eliot Spencer had taken a bullet that had been intended for Sam Ford, Nathan's son... but it might be the last time...

The memory was suddenly overwhelming and Nate found himself drawn back to a time where he had almost lost everything, but thanks to one Eliot Spencer he hadn't...

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><p><em><strong>.<strong>_

_**Flashback 2006**_

_**.**_

_Nathan Ford absolutely hated that he had to do this, but he didn't have any other choice._

_His son's life hung in the balance... and his marriage too..._

_That was why he had pulled some strings, asked some contacts and now he was here, in a rundown bar in a small town in Texas._

_Across from him sat a man, a few years younger than Ford himself, long hair held back in a ponytail, a beer sitting in front of him._

_Eliot Spencer, retrieval specialist par excellence, eyed him with distrust and Nate was relieved that he had even shown up for the meeting._

"_What do you want, Ford?" he growled in a deep voice Nathan had only heard once before, when he had chased the man for his security firm IYS._

_._

_Sure, he had taken all precautions back then and had studied the retrieval specialist and had been pretty sure that he would be able to take Spencer down._

_But he had underestimated the younger man and the hitter had him in a tight choke hold, ready to snap his neck._

_And Nathan had to admit that he still didn't know how he had made it out of this meeting alive._

_Eliot Spencer had been prepared to kill him and he would have most likely succeeded, but then he had suddenly let go of him, told Ford to never come near him again and then he had turned around and left without another word._

_Up to this day, three years later, Nathan still didn't know why Eliot Spencer had done that, why the a hitter, who hurt and even killed people for a living, had let him go without a second thought, had let a man go, who had been intent to throw him into prison._

_Nate had quickly realized how lucky he had been and he had made a point in staying away from cases where Eliot Spencer seemed to be involved, not because he was afraid of the hitter, but he also wasn't suicidal and he knew that he probably wouldn't escape a second time._

_._

_And now here he was, sitting across from the young man again, on his own free will._

_Ford noticed that Spencer hadn't changed too much in the last three years, even though he spotted some new bruises and scars on Eliot's chest from where the shirt he wore was partially unbuttoned._

_That Spencer wasn't trusting him didn't really surprise Ford, but again, he didn't have a choice and he was getting desperate._

_The hitter seemed to realize that Ford was lost in thought, because he knocked lightly on the table with his knuckles to regain his attention._

_And Nathan blinked three times and then he fully focused on the here and now._

"_I need your help," Ford said, because there was no point in walking circles around the subject. Every minute counted and Nate was well aware that he had wasted a lot of time already by trying to track down the retrieval specialist._

_He just hoped that Eliot wouldn't outright laugh at him._

_But the younger man merely raised an eyebrow and titled his head slightly to the side._

"_You do?" he questioned and Nate detected a hint of interest in the deep voice._

"_Yeah I do," Nate repeated, nervously clenching and unclenching his fingers around the beer bottle he had in front of him._

"_And why should I help you? The last time we met you wanted to shoot me or throw me in jail, depending on what you would manage to do first," Eliot questioned, pushing his own empty beer bottle to the side._

"_And you wanted to kill me," Nate replied, trying to keep his voice even, because he didn't want to show the other man how desperate he was._

"_I call that self-preservation," was all Eliot replied with a shrug and there was something in his eyes that intrigued Nate and he was pretty sure that when all of this was over, no matter how it would play out, he would be left with more questions about this man sitting in front of him, he probably would never get an answer to._

_._

"_Fair enough," Nate allowed, because, yeah, Eliot had a point here._

_It had been Nathan who had pulled the gun, while Eliot had merely stood there, looking at him with interest and then he had warned him that he should lower the gun or he would regret it._

"_But you're not here to talk about our last encounter," Spencer reminded._

"_No, I'm not. I need to hire you for a job," Nathan explained, this time the desperation seemed to show in his voice, because Spencer's other brow rose almost to his hairline and he leaned forward a little._

"_What kind of job?" the younger man questioned and Nate gave a sigh of relief, now that there might be a chance that Eliot Spencer would help him, because the hitter was his best shot at this._

"_I need you to retrieve something, or better someone, someone important to me," Nathan explained, pulling out a small photograph._

_He looked at it and hesitated a little before he handed the photo to the other man._

_Eliot took the picture and didn't even say a word after he had taken a look at it. Instead he searched Ford's eyes, obviously looking for something._

_The hitter handed the photograph back._

"_So this job is..." Eliot trailed off and Nate knew that Spencer had found whatever he had looked for._

_And finally there was hope that his life wouldn't be completely ripped apart, because Nathan had been too good at his job._

_Nathan Ford took a deep breath and then he finally told Eliot Spencer why he was here._

"_I need you to retrieve my son."_

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to be continued, if you're interested...


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N: **Wow, I would never have thought that I'd get so much feedback for this little story-idea.

I hope you will like the second chapter as much as you like the first one *hopeful smile*

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**And I have a question for all of you: **Would you prefer for this story to be a Nate/Eliot Slash or a Nate/Eliot father/son story? I have two versions of this in my head, but I'd really like your opinion...

**Actually, there's a second question:** I'm thinking about writing an Angel/Leverage crossover and I was wondering if any of you might be interested in such a story?

.

Comments would of course be most appreciated *smiles*

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Thank you to **wnhill, Jesco123, a friend, fanficalicious, WickedMagic, TerrorThatLurksInYerBathtub X3, fro-chan, TheNaggingCube, Nascarfan14, The Girl In The White Scarf and sessysbaby666** for all your kind comments *hugs you all* That really means a lot to me *happy grin*

.

Please keep in mind that English isn't my native language *sheepish smile*

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**Warnings: This story is totally AU, because Sam is alive in the story and so the team coming together will be under a little different circumstances, which will be explained throughout the story **

.  
><strong>Disclainer:<strong> None of the Leverage characters belong to me and I just borrowed them for this little story... this story doesn't mean to offend anybody… this is just for fun… and not for money either...

_._

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><p><strong>Chapter 1<strong>

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><p><em>.<em>

_**Flashback 2006 **_

_._

"_I need you to retrieve my son."_

_For a moment there was complete silence between the two men, Nate was waiting for an answer, hoping that Eliot would take the job._

_And the Hitter tried to figure out if this was some sort of trap, but one look in Nathan Ford's face assured him that the older man was serious._

_Eliot's eyes traveled between the picture that Nathan had put on the table, a young boy smiling at the camera, the same unruly brown hair Nate had._

"_Retrieve your son from where exactly? And how on Earth did you even lose your son in the first place?" the young Hitter asked cautiously and Nate thought he heard a little disappointment in the other man's voice._

_And Nate had to admit that it was kind of weird to talk about his son in this context, but he just had no idea what else to do... all he wanted was his son back._

_._

_And of course Nathan could understand that Eliot was wary and cautious, because yes, he was Eliot "fucking" Spencer, one of the best Retrieval Specialists in the world, but that also meant he had a lot of enemies._

_So Nate really couldn't blame the young man that he was still wary concerning Nate's case._

_And Nathan once again found himself intrigued with the man sitting across from him._

_He knew Eliot Spencer's file, well from when he had started to become a Hitter, but there was slim to none information about the younger man until he turned sixteen and joined the military._

_Nate was asking himself what had happened in Eliot's youth that he had chosen such a life._

_The insurance investigator shook his head a little to shake off those thoughts and to focus on why he was here._

_._

_He once again studied Eliot Spencer._

_Nate and the young man didn't have the best history, but they both respected each other and that gave Nate the hope that Eliot would actually accept the job._

_He sighed and ran a hand through his unruly hair._

"_Maybe the more interesting question is not where but who," Nate finally said, a little worried what Spencer would do when he explained everything, because he knew that Eliot would be familiar with the name he was about to say._

_Eliot only raised an eyebrow and took the second beer a pretty, brown haired waitress, according to her name-tag her name was Linda, handed him with a slight smile._

"_Thanks Darlin'," Eliot told her and gave her such a charming smile that the young woman blushed before she left the table._

_And for a moment Nate was amazed how a genuine smile changed everything about Eliot Spencer._

_When he was smiling like that, it was hard to imagine Eliot as the hard, ruthless Hitter he was known for._

_._

_As soon as Linda was out of sight, Spencer's whole demeanor changed and his face hardened immediately and the warm smile was gone._

"_Who did you piss off this time, Ford?" he asked after taking a sip from his beer._

_Nathan sighed again and pulled a crumpled file out of the inner pocket of his jacket and handed it to Spencer._

_He figured it was easier for Eliot to read it than for Nate to say it._

_Eliot's other eyebrow rose and he took the file from the insurance investigator._

_He opened it and at first there was no reaction, he just stared at the piece of paper in front of him._

_Eliot didn't even breath and for a second Nate was really worried that the Hitter would just get up and leave._

_But after what had seemed like an eternity to Nate, but in reality was only a few moments, Eliot finally looked up from the file._

"_How did you manage to piss that guy off? He's not exactly insurance-business."_

_There was a mild curiosity in the young Hitter's voice, but other than that it betrayed no emotion._

_Nate scratched the back of his head for a second._

"_It would take too long to explain it to you right now. I wrote down all you need to know about it in the file," he told Eliot and left out that he really didn't want to talk about it._

_Eliot took another sip of his beer and tossed the file back onto the table, not saying anything else._

_And Nate feared that the Hitter was about to say no to the job, so the insurance investigator once again reached into a pocket of his jacket and pulled out a think envelope and tossed it on the table on top of the file._

"_This is just an advance, you'll get the rest once you get me back my son."_

_Eliot Spencer was a retrieval specialist who got paid to retrieve stolen items, so Nate figured that the amount of money he was willing to pay would convince Spencer to take the job._

_._

_But Nathan really hadn't counted on the younger man's reaction._

_The whole face twisted into an angry mask and he slammed the bottle of beer down on the table that for a moment Nate feared it would burst._

"_I don't want your money, Ford, not for a job like this," Eliot growled and Nate got the distinct feeling that he had personally insulted the younger man, even though he had no idea how._

_Eliot was in this for the money, wasn't he?  
>So why wouldn't he want to take Nate's money and why on Earth should he feel insulted that Nate had wanted to pay him?<em>

_This meeting only brought more questions about the young Hitter than it answered for Nate._

_But Nathan still feared that Eliot wouldn't take the job, so he needed something else to bargain with._

"_What else do you want? Just name it and I'll try to get it," he pleaded, hoping he sounded desperate enough, because he** was **desperate._

_He wanted his son back, unharmed and as fast as possible and he needed Eliot Spencer for that job._

_Sure, he could try to find another Hitter for the job, but that would take too much time, time Sam didn't have..._

_._

_Eliot snorted and emptied the bottle of beer, before placing it on the table again._

"_We'll talk about that when I've retrieved your son, Mr. Ford," was all he said, before he almost jumped up from his chair, the file in his hand, startling Nate with the sudden movement._

"_But..." Nate started and stood up too._

"_No buts, Ford. I'll contact you once I've finished the job. If you haven't heard from me in four days I'm probably dead and you should look for another man to do the job."_

_After those words Eliot just walked away from the table and Nathan could only look after him in astonishment, not sure how to feel about this meeting._

_The only thing he knew for certain was, that Eliot Spencer was going to try and free his son... and if anyone could do it, then it was this young man._

_Nate just hoped he'd see the young man again... and he knew the next days would be the hardest days of his life..._

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><p><strong>.<br>**

**Present Time**

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"Nate?"

Sophie's voice stopped Nate from thinking about that fateful meeting with Eliot a few years ago.

He looked at Sophie, who had come to stand beside him.

"Sorry, Soph, I was just lost in a memory for a little while."

Nate answered her unspoken question if he was okay and smiled at the Grifter.

Sophie just nodded and pointed towards Parker who had fallen asleep on the windowsill and to Hardison, who was trying to figure out how to carry the petite thief without waking her up.

"We'll take Parker home. Do you want to come with us?" Sophie asked, even though Nate was pretty sure that she already knew what he would answer.

"No, I'll stay here, but could you maybe take Sam with you? Maggie should come to pick him up in about half an hour anyway."

Sure, he really didn't want to leave his son alone, but his visiting weekend was over soon anyway and Maggie would expect to find a happy boy waiting in Nate's apartment, bursting to tell his mother about the fabulous weekend he had had with his Dad and Uncle Eliot.

.

Nate hadn't called his ex-wife and told her about what had happened with Eliot, because he didn't want to worry her too much.

He'd call her tonight and explain everything.

Nate's eyes traveled to the sleeping boy on his lap and he knew it would be better for Sam to be with his mother.

She could console him better, because Nate knew he was too worried about Eliot right now to be of much help for his scared son.

.

Sophie nodded and held her arms out and Nate placed Sam in the waiting arms and kissed the boy's forehead.

"It'll be okay, Sammy," he whispered, hoping his son would hear the reassuring words.

Sophie smiled at Nate and gave him a quick peck on the cheek, before she turned and started walking towards the door of the private room they had put Eliot in.  
>"Call, if something changes, no matter what time, okay?"<p>

Hardison looked at Nate, his eyes blurred with unshed tears, because he wanted to be strong for Parker, who he held securely in his arms.

"I will," was all Nate said, before he turned his attention back to the unconscious man in the hospital bed, sighing deeply when he heard the door to the room close behind Sophie, Sam, Parker and Hardison.

.

Nathan watched Eliot again, the man was just so still that it was painful for Nate to see it.

"You need to make it through, Eliot. You need to make it through for Parker, Sophie and Hardison... but most important you need to survive this for me and Sam," Nate whispered.

H pulled his chair a little closer to the bed and gently placed a hand on top of Eliot's arm.

"You need to make it through for your family."

Nathan's hand unconsciously found the faint scar on Eliot's forearm.

You could only find it if you knew it was there... and Nate knew it was there even though he wished he didn't...

He knew, because he had been there when Eliot had gotten that scar...

And against his will Nate's thoughts once again drifted to a memory he had pushed to the back of his mind before... it had been three days after Eliot had taken the job to retrieve Sam... and the Hitter had contacted him...

.

to be continued...


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N:** I'm still really happy that you seem to like this story so much and I really hope that this part doesn't disappoint. It's a flashback chapter only and I hope you don't mind that *smiles nervously*

Well, I can't say much more to the chapter, so just have fun reading *smiles*

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**Oh yeah, just in case you haven't done so already, I'd really appreciate it if you'd take a look at my Angel/Leverage crossover The LA Song Job *smiles***

.

Comments for this chapter would be most appreciated *puppy dog eyes*

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Thank you to **TheNaggingCube, Yammy1983, zippy zany, MCRxRoxx, EldritchFire, sessysbaby666, fro-chan, Nomadguardians, Iu, The Girl In The White Scarf** (yeah, Danke means thanks in German *g*), **Jesco123 and bluesister02** for all your kind comments *hugs you* I really appreciate them and they always make my day *smiles*

.

**Warnings: This story is totally AU, because Sam is alive in the story and so the team coming together will be under a little different circumstances, which will be explained throughout the story **

.  
><strong>Disclainer:<strong> None of the Leverage characters belong to me and I just borrowed them for this little story... this story doesn't mean to offend anybody… this is just for fun… and not for money either...

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><p><strong>Chapter 2<strong>

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><p><strong>.<br>**

_**Flashback 2006**_

_._

_It had been three days now and Nate still hadn't heard from Eliot Spencer. And slowly he was getting worried, wondering what might have happened, but then again, Eliot had told him he had three days before he really should start worrying. Nathan, however, just couldn't help it, he worried, not only for his son's safety but also for the Hitter's safety. The young man was, after all, doing this for Nate and his son, so he thought he deserved to be worried about._

_._

_Right now Nate was sitting in a hotel room in a small town near the Mexican border, a town Nathan had never heard of before. He was only here, because the day before a letter had been delivered to him. It had been from Spencer, who had told him to come to this town and book a hotel room, of course not under his real name and wait there for two days and hope that Eliot called him during those two days. Nathan hadn't even questioned the Hitter's orders and had flown down here without hesitation._

_So he had spent the last day sitting in the hotel room, staring at the prepaid cell phone that had been delivered with the letter, waiting for Eliot to call with any news, hopefully good news, but at least he hoped he'd call at all. But so far there hadn't been a call and Nathan felt like he was slowly going crazy, but he refused to give up hope yet, because for some reason unknown even to him, he trusted Eliot Spencer and if the young man wouldn't be able to bring Sam back, then he'd probably never see his son again._

_._

_In the complete silence of the hotel room the loud, shrill ringing of the cell phone was almost unbearable loud, but Nate picked it up in an instant._

_"William's Bar in ten minutes," a gruff, familiar voice said, hanging up again before Nate could even ask what was going on. But Nate had immediately realized that it really was Eliot Spencer, who had called him, because he'd recognize the deep voice and the accent almost anywhere. Besides, he didn't think anyone else had that number._

_So Nate didn't hesitate and grabbed the small bag that held his clothes and his passport, he hadn't bothered unpacking, only getting out the clothes he needed for the day and repacking everything else immediately afterward. It didn't even take him three minutes to check out of the hotel and Nate was glad for that, because with the way Eliot sounded, the Hitter hadn't called him to have a drink and idle chit-chat at "William's Bar"._

_._

_Nate left the hotel and turned left. He knew the bar Eliot had been talking about, because it was the only bar in the street and Nathan had found his way there yesterday night to pass the time, because otherwise he might have gone crazy sitting in his hotel room thinking about all the horrible scenarios about what could have happened to his son and to the Hitter too. So Nathan quickly made his way down the street and entered the small but cozy bar. It was empty, which surprised him a little, because when he had been there the day before, the bar had been pretty crowded and Nate had gotten the impression that the bar was a popular place in town. So he understandably was a little uneasy when he found the place totally empty._

_That feeling didn't easy when suddenly the door was smashed closed behind him and locked. Nate whirled around and came face to face with Harry, the bartender he had met the day before._

_"What's going on here?" Nate questioned and hoped that he hadn't just walked straight into a trap. Harry put the "closed" sign up and then turned to Nate, grabbed his arm and dragged the other man with him._

_"We don't have much time. They're in the back," Harry informed and Nate's hopes rose when the man said "they"._

_Could Eliot really have found and freed his son?_

_._

_So he more or less stumbled after Harry, still not sure what to think and do about this situation._

_When the door to the private rooms in the bar opened, however, all doubts vanished from his mind, when he saw his son sitting on a chair in the kitchen, munching on some cookies._

_"Daddy!" he exclaimed when he spotted Nate. The insurance investigator dropped his bag and rushed to his son, sweeping him up in a tight hug, scanning the boy for any injuries._

_"Sammy!" was all he managed to say, tears welling up in his eyes. He had his son back and right now the boy didn't look injured or scared, quite the contrary. He had a small smile on his face, happy to see his daddy again. Okay, his clothes were torn and he was in need of a bath, but other than that, Sam seemed to be better than Nate had expected. He wondered if it was, because other than being imprisoned nothing had happened to Sam, or if he was just a kid to bounce back quickly once he was with his daddy again._

_Whatever the case was, he would find out, but right now all that mattered was, that he had his son back in one piece._

_Relief flooded the insurance investigator and he kissed his son's dirty hair. Then his eyes searched for Eliot Spencer. The Hitter had to be here too and Nate hadn't even thanked him yet._

_But his eyes widened when he saw the state the Hitter was in. The man was bleeding from a wound on his head. His clothes were torn in certain places and Nate didn't even want to count the bruises littering the man's body, some probably hidden by his clothes, but others painfully visible, especially the one on his left cheek, directly under the man's eye, a stark contrast to the unusual pale face._

_Harry's wife, or at least Nate assumed that she was Harry's wife, was busy bandaging what looked like a bullet hole in Eliot's right shoulder. Nate bit his lip and wondered how much trouble Eliot had gone through to retrieve his son._

_._

_He was about to thank the Hitter, when suddenly they heard a loud bang and Harry quickly looked through the small window that separated the private rooms from the rest of the bar. Three men, armed with guns were trying to destroy the front door of the bar._

_"They're here," he stated, going pale and nervously wringing his hands. The woman stopped what she was doing and looked at Eliot in panic._

_The Hitter growled and hopped down from the table he had been sitting on, hissing, when his right ankle came in contact with the ground._

_"I'm sorry, Harry, Elaine, I didn't think they'd find us here," he murmured, looking slightly guilty. Harry shrugged a little._

_"It's okay, Eliot. Elaine and I have been thinking about moving back to the South anyway," he said, a slight trace of humor in his voice, probably his way to cope with the dangerous situation they'd find themselves in in a few minutes._

_Eliot chuckled weakly. "I'll take care of them, don't worry and we'll be gone before backup arrives," he explained and Harry nodded, walking over to one of the room-high shelves. Nathan looked after him in confusion, not sure what to do, but he still held Sam safe in his arms. The boy seemed to sense that the situation was serious, because he clung tightly to his dad, head buried against his father's chest._

_Nathan's eyes widened, when Harry suddenly pulled an unseen latch and the shelve swung to the side, revealing a hidden room behind it. Harry stepped into it, his wife following after him._

_"Come on, Mr. Ford," Elaine urged, when she realized that the man wasn't following her, but Nate was still too stunned to move. Suddenly, however, he found himself pushed forward._

_"Go!", Eliot growled, shoving him towards the secret room._

_"I'll put them out of action and then I'll get you. Don't come out until I tell you to... or, if I somehow won't be able to and don't tell you it's alright within 15 minutes then use the backdoor and go," the Hitter instructed while he pushed Nate and Sam fully into the room, pulling the unseen mechanism again and the door swung closed again, before Nate could say or do anything else..._

_._

_When the door was closed, Nate set Sam down on the ground and looked around the room he found himself in, trying to ignore the gunshots coming from the next room. It wasn't a big room, but it held a bed, a small desk, a toilet and a washbasin._

_"What is this?" he questioned, his voice not more than a whisper, at the moment too stunned to pay attention to Sam, but he didn't need to, because Elaine had picked the boy up and was feeding him more cookies. Harry smiled a little sadly._

_"That's Eliot's safe-house, if you want to call it that, when he comes back from a job, thugs hot on his heels and when he's injured. We'll just leave him be and give him everything he asks for," Harry informed, whispering too. Nate closed his eyes for a second when he heard another gunshot and a cry of pain. Harry looked towards the door in worry too and it was obvious that he cared a great deal about the young man outside, who was currently fighting the three armed man while injured. Nate just hoped that he'd survive this ordeal and he wondered why he hadn't just hidden in here with them and waited until the thugs had left, but then again, that probably just wasn't Eliot Spencer's nature. He took care of the problems he caused... but only this time it wasn't a problem he had caused, but one Nate had caused and Ford just hoped, that the Hitter would survive._

_Harry put a hand on Nate's shoulder._

_"Eliot will be okay, Mr. Ford. You should take care of your son now," he said, a smile that was meant to be reassuring on his lips. And Nate followed his advice, knowing that there wasn't much else he could do right now and Sam needed him..._

_._

_He had not even reached the bed where Elaine and Sam sat, when suddenly the door swung open again and Eliot Spencer appeared in the doorway, blood on his shirt that hadn't been there before, but he had one of those grins on his face that Nate had learned to mean that he was satisfied with his work._

_"The coast is clear... I probably should be insulted by the quality of his men the bastard sent after me, after I've wrecked havoc among them only a few hours before," the Hitter said and Nate should be relieved, but everything he had meant to say, vanished when he realized how weak and slurred the younger man's voice sounded and before anyone could react, Eliot swayed on his feet and he would probably have hit the ground hard, if Harry hadn't rushed forward and caught him._

_"Elaine, call Doctor Myers..." was all he said to his wife, before he eased the young man to the ground gently. Nate could only watch in horror at the ever growing pool of blood underneath Eliot's body..._

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to be continued, if you want me to...


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N:** Hey everybody, here comes a new chapter *smiles* I really, really hope you like it, especially the new flashback in there *sighs* Again, not much more to say to this chapter, except that feedback is of course very much appreciated *smiles*

.

And I'm still so happy that so many of you like this story *smiles happily*

Thank you to **Yammy1983, TheNaggingCube, ****TerrorThatLurksInYerBathtub X3, zippy zany, Jesco123, whovian42, EldritchFire, Nascarfan14, Sabby, drjones und fro-chan** for all your kind comments *hugs you all*

.

**Warnings:** This story is totally AU, because Sam is alive in the story and so the team coming together will be under a little different circumstances, which will be explained throughout the story

.  
><strong>Disclainer:<strong> None of the Leverage characters belong to me and I just borrowed them for this little story... this story doesn't mean to offend anybody… this is just for fun… and not for money either...

.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 3<strong>

* * *

><p>.<p>

**Present Time**

.

"When will you stop keeping stuff like this from me?"

The angry voice once again brought Nate out of his wandering thoughts and the memories of what had happened the first time Eliot had been shot, because he wanted to protect Sam. His head whipped around and he looked at his ex-wife standing in the doorway, looking like she didn't know what to feel: anger or concern.

Finally the concern won out and she softly closed the door behind her and walked over to the bed, staring at Eliot, who was, of course, still unconscious, tears in her eyes.

"How is he?" she questioned, not sure if she really wanted an answer to that question. Nate sighed deeply and ran a hand through his hair.

"Not good, but better than most people would be with a bullet in their lung," he said, looking at his ex-wife with sort of a half smile, even though there was no real happiness in it.

.

Maggie swallowed and walked to the head of the bed, reaching out with a shaking hand to gently brush a strain of hair from Eliot's pale forehead.

"When were you going to tell me? I mean, do you have any idea what I felt when my son told me under tears that Uncle Eliot has been shot and that he now won't wake up?" Maggie pulled a chair to the bed and sat down on the other side of the bed, looking directly at Nate, her hand lightly resting on Eliot's arm, careful not to unhook any of the IV's attached to the other man.

"I mean, I first thought Eliot was dead, until Sophie told me that he was in hospital... do you have any idea how that felt?" she questioned, not to guilt-trip Nate, but because she wanted answers... no, she needed answers. Eliot was part of her family and she felt like she had a right to know.

Nate buried his head in his hands for a moment and took a few deep breaths.

"I wanted to call you, but I wanted to wait a little while longer. I didn't even consider that Sam might tell you," he admitted, knowing that it had been wrong not to call his ex-wife, but honestly he had had no idea what exactly to tell her.

Maggie gave him a look that said what exactly she thought about that and Nate ducked his head for a second, before he focused his eyes on Eliot again. The Hitter still hadn't moved, not that Nathan had expected him to, but it was still hard to see the younger man like this.

.

"What happened?" Once again it was Maggie's voice that stopped Nate from drifting back to the last time Eliot had been shot because of Sam.

This time it was Nate who swallowed and posed a question himself: "Where's Sammy?"

Maggie tilted her head to the side and absentmindedly stroked Eliot's arm.

"He's with Sophie and the rest of the team. When I left, Parker was starting to teach him how to pick locks. Normally I'd not encourage that, but it distracts both of them from the situation, so I guess I can live with it for now," Maggie told him, a small, fond smile on her face, before she turned serious again.

"But don't go and change the subject. What happened? And why keeps Sam repeating that it's his fault?" There was no accusation in her voice, but Nate still felt like a little kid, getting reprimanded by their dad for taking unnecessary risks.

He wasn't sure what he was going to tell Maggie.

"Honestly, I have no real idea what happened," he admitted, because he had been too worried about Eliot to really think about what had put the Hitter in that hospital bed. Or better, he hadn't dared to think about it.

"Don't kid yourself, Nate. You know exactly what has happened, you just don't want to tell me," she accused, but Nate shook his head, trying to convince his ex-wife that he didn't know, because the last thing he wanted, was for her to be in danger too.

.

"Maggie, I don't really know. But I promise I'll go and figure it out and I'll make sure that those guys won't hurt anyone ever again," he promised and for the first time after Maggie had entered the room, she gave him a genuine smile.

"I wouldn't expect anything less from you," she told him and he could detect a hint of pride in her voice. Then she turned her eyes to Eliot again and a tear fell down her cheek.

"I'll never forget the first time I met Eliot," she whispered. Nathan scratched the back of his head and it took him a moment to recall when exactly Maggie had met Eliot.

But then he smiled.

"Why am I not surprised that you still remember it? It was the first time I was truly jealous," he asked, a little amused and he was even more amused when he detected the hint of a blush on his wife's face.

"Hey, looking doesn't count as cheating," she told him, a small reminiscent smile on her face. Nate chuckled and followed her back down on memory lane.

.

* * *

><p>.<p>

_**Flashback 2006**_

_._

"_Uncle Eliot!"_

_Sam squirmed in his mother's arms and demanded to be put down. He had been so excited the whole day when his father had told him that they were going to visit the man that had become an uncle to him in record time... and more important, they were going to see horses and Eliot had promised him that he'd be allowed to ride._

_._

_Sure, Maggie Ford still wasn't entirely convinced that it was a good idea, but she had finally given in when she had seen how happy Sam had been. And after it had only been a few months since her son had been kidnapped, she was more than happy to see him smile again. But she didn't put her son down yet, because yes, she had seen this Eliot too, but he was on a horse and she was afraid that in his enthusiasm he would run onto the fenced corral and get hurt._

_Nathan smiled at Maggie and put a hand on his son's head, ruffling his hair._

"_Just a little more patience, son, Eliot has heard you and he'll come over here and then you can ride, see," he said and pointed towards the man on the horse, who had indeed heard them and came galloping towards them._

_It had not really taken Maggie much convincing to come to the farm where Eliot was currently working to relax after his last mission, which had been retrieving Sam. And Maggie had wanted to meet the man that had saved her son, risking his own life in the process even though he hadn't known them before. And then he hadn't even wanted to get paid, had just stated mysteriously that Nate owed him one and he'd collect that favor when needed. And then he had started sending Sam gifts and calling the young boy, since he'd promised him that when rescuing him._

_._

_So Maggie had been more than curious to meet the famous retrieval specialist, who had found a place in her son's heart so quickly. She had tried to picture the man, but when she now looked at the man, who was now sliding down from the horse, she couldn't help but staring._

_Eliot Spencer was much younger than she had expected and much more good looking... especially now, bathed in sweat, his hair wild from riding bareback on the black stallion he now held, his skin tanned from the sun, wearing tight jeans, cowboy boots and he was, and that was, as far as Maggie was concerned the most important fact, shirtless, showing off his well defined stomach. There was a huge scar still visible on his shoulder and Maggie was painfully aware that it had to be from where he had been shot when he had protected Sam and Nate from certain death._

_The man smiled at them, especially at Sam, who now started squirming again._

"_Uncle Eliot," he said happily, stretching his arms out towards the man. Maggie smiled at the man, asking a silent question, but Eliot just shrugged, taking Sam from her arms, holding him effortlessly against his hip with one arm, while Sam put both arms around Eliot's neck._

"_Hey buddy, how are you?" he questioned, smiling at the boy in his arms._

"_I'm great. When can I go riding?" Sam questioned and Nate and Maggie had to chuckle at their son's enthusiasm. Eliot did so too and then he explained: "Soon, I'll just put Thunder back into his stable and then you can choose your horse. Willy has allowed me to give you the horse you want."_

"_Yay!" Sam cheered, looking at Thunder with fascination, reaching one tentative hand out to pet Thunder, who didn't seem to mind, because he lowered his head a little, so that Sam could reach him better._

_._

_Eliot chuckled again and then he turned towards Maggie and Nate, who had stayed back, Maggie still staring at the younger man, hoping that he wouldn't notice._

"_Ford," Eliot greeted, his tone not as warm as it had been with Sam, but still not hostile towards the insurance investigator._

"_Eliot," Ford gave back in the same tone, full of respect._

_Eliot smiled and then he turned to Maggie._

"_And you must be the lovely Maggie, Sam's mom," he said, even though he of course knew who she was. Maggie blushed a little more, the twinkle in his eyes telling her that he had noticed her staring, but he was polite enough not to mention it. And Maggie couldn't help but be charmed by the younger man._

"_I am, Mr. Spencer... Eliot?" she questioned, not sure what to call the other man._

"_Eliot," The Hitter answered her and Maggie nodded a little._

"_Eliot. Thank you so much for rescuing my son," she told him and before she really knew what she was doing, she stepped up to Eliot and kissed the younger man's cheek, making her son giggle and Eliot look at least a little embarrassed._

"_It was my job, Ma'am," he replied and then he turned to Sam again._

"_So, do you wanna see the horses now, buddy?" Eliot questioned and Sam nodded enthusiastically._

"_Good, then let's go." With that Eliot grabbed the horses reins a little tighter, put Maggie's and Nate's son more securely against his hip and turned around, walking towards the stables. _

_._

_Maggie and Nate followed a little behind, watching their son telling Eliot about their last visit to the zoo._

_Maggie took Nate's hand and told him: "You never told me that Eliot Spencer was this good looking."_

_Nathan turned to stare at her and obviously had no idea what to say to this, because he scratched the back of his head and squeezed her hand for a second. Maggie chuckled and kissed her husband's cheek. _

"_Don't worry, you're my number one," she told him and Nate smiled at her, capturing her lips in a kiss. Maggie returned it and then she turned to look towards Eliot and Sam again._

"_So, is this fine young man going to be a permanent fixture in our lives now?" she asked. Nathan shrugged._

"_For Sam he is," he told her and Maggie nodded._

"_Is it so wrong for me to hope that he is going to be one in our lives too?" she asked, because she knew she'd be eternally grateful that Eliot Spencer had come into their lives, no matter under what circumstances. Nate smiled and squeezed her hand again._

"_Not at all, Mags, not at all..."_

.

* * *

><p>.<p>

**Present Time**

.

"And if I remember correctly, we got divorced about half a year later. This didn't have anything to do with your little crush on Eliot, did it?"

Nate brought them both out of the shared memory and looked at Maggie, again half a smile on his lips. His ex-wife gave him one of her looks and then told him: "You know that it hadn't anything to do with that."

"Yeah, I know," Nate told her and then they lapsed into silence for a while, both looking at the unconscious young man on the bed.

.

"Do you think, he's going to make it?" Maggie asked after a while and another tear rolled down her cheeks. Nate sighed and reached out to put his own on top of Maggie's.

"I don't know, Mags, I really don't know. But if anyone will survive this, then it's Eliot," he tried to assure her, as well as himself and Maggie appreciated it. She turned her hand and squeezed Nate's before she said: "I need to get back. Sam needs me."

Nathan nodded, while Maggie let go of his hand and stood up.

"Yeah," he said, glad that she would take care of their son.

His ex-wife bent down and kissed Eliot's forehead.

"Get well soon, cowboy," she said softly, wiping away a tear from her cheek, before she turned to Nate again.

"Call one of us if something changes, okay?" she asked and was relieved when Nate nodded.

"I will," he confirmed and watched Maggie leave, after one last long look at Eliot, lying unconscious in the hospital bed.

.

And once again Nate found himself alone with Eliot and he stared at the younger man.

"See Eliot, you don't have any other choice than to wake up or you're going to destroy so many lives if you don't," he whispered, once again finding Eliot's hand, squeezing it softly, closing his eyes for a moment, trying to push away the dark memories that were threatening to overwhelm him once again.

But before he could succumb to the memories, the door to the hospital room burst open again and Nate turned in his chair, but his eyes widened, because there stood the last person he had ever expected to see standing in the doorway to the hospital room, looking concerned.

"Hello Nate."

.

to be continued...


	5. Chapter 4

**A/N:** Okay, I'm awfully sorry that it took me so long to update the story and that it's such a short chapter, but I really hope you will like it, even though it goes even more AU than the story already has... why it goes even more AU, well you have to read and see *smiles* And I really hope you are not losing interest in the story *sigh*

.

Comments for this story would be most appreciated *puppy dog eyes*

But please keep in mind that English is not my native language *smiles*

.

Thank you to **MCRxRoxx, TheNaggingCube, Eldritchfire, whovian42, Zippy zany, Jada Ryl, Yammy1983, Jesco123 and fro-chan** for all your kind reviews *hugs you all* Your comments mean so much to me *smiles*

.

**Warnings:** This story is totally AU, because Sam is alive in the story and so the team coming together will be under a little different circumstances, which will be explained throughout the story

.  
><strong>Disclainer:<strong> None of the Leverage characters belong to me and I just borrowed them for this little story... this story doesn't mean to offend anybody… this is just for fun… and not for money either...

.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 4<strong>

* * *

><p>.<p>

"Hello Nate."

Nate shot out of his chair, trying to block Jim Sterling's view of the unconscious Eliot. It was not very successful, but it was more of an instinct. Eliot always protected them so Nate thought it was his job to protect the Hitter now.

But he would never have thought that Sterling would sink this low and try to get the team when they were this vulnerable. Nate straightened a little more and asked: "What the hell do you want now, Sterling? And how on Earth do you even know about all this?"

Nate was more then a little surprised to see the concerned expression on Sterling's face deepen even more and so he didn't even react when Sterling took a few steps closer to the bed, his eyes scanning the unconscious man on the bed.

"Maggie called me and told me about Eliot," Sterling explained, taking another step towards the bed and Nate knew he needed to talk to Maggie about this. Why would she call Sterling and tell him that Eliot was hurt bad and was in hospital? His thoughts were interrupted when Jim spoke up again.

"How is he?" was all the man asked after he had stopped in his tracks.

"Don't try to tell me, that you're here because you care about Eliot," Nate spat and then he once again walked between Sterling and the bed in which Eliot rested. Sterling just gave him one of his trademark looks and then shrugged a little.

"Believe it or not, Nate, I do worry about him," Jim said and there was a sincerity in his voice that surprised Nathan and a little of the tension that had appeared once Sterling had appeared in the doorway left him.

"So you're not here to make trouble for us?" Nate questioned cautiously just to make sure.

"Come on, Nate. Even I'm not that heartless," Jim told him, even sounding a little appalled that Nate could think he would do something like that. Nate raised an eyebrow and Sterling relented a little.

"Okay, I sometimes am that heartless. But not when it concerns someone who saved my life and the life of my daughter," Sterling explained and for a moment Nate was actually speechless. Of course he knew that Sterling had a daughter, but he had never known about anything about Jim's and Olivia's life being in danger.

.

"What?" was all he managed to ask and Sterling shrugged again.

"You are not the only insurance investigator who has pissed off someone from the mob," he started and then ran a hand through his hair, before he continued: "Let me say it like this: Your son is not the only child, who calls Eliot Spencer "uncle". I too have known Eliot Spencer before he even joined your little group."

There was kind of a melancholy in his voice that surprised Nathan even more and he scratched the back of his head as a sign of his confusion. He had never expected to hear something like that from James Sterling and he wondered what else Jim had kept a secret from him in the years they had worked together.

"But you tried to kill him," he finally managed to say and he was glad that he had found his voice again and had said anything at all. He needed a good explanation from Sterling to believe what the other man had just said. And Nate was more than a little surprised to see that Sterling actually looked a little guilty.

"I didn't try to kill him, Nate," Sterling started and Nate couldn't help but snort at that. Of course, sending another Hitter of Quinn's caliber after Eliot wasn't an attempt on Eliot's life. Sterling sighed.

"I really didn't, Nate. Yeah, I sent Quinn after him, but the plan was for Quinn to just knock Eliot out that he wouldn't get in the way of me arresting you," he admitted, then he glanced at the unconscious man on the bed.

"But Blackpoole went over my head and paid Quinn more to kill Eliot. Ian has been afraid of Eliot ever since Eliot paid him a little visit when he found out that Blackpoole wasn't going to pay for Sam's treatment and told Blackpoole what exactly he thought about that. Ian didn't leave his house for over a week," Sterling explained, his eyes never leaving Eliot's still form, a small reminiscent smile on his face, even though it wasn't an entirely happy one. Nate's eyes widened at that. Okay, he had always suspected that Eliot had had something to do with Blackpoole's sudden change of mind, but the Hitter had always denied it whenever Nate had tried to worm the whole story out of him. To have his suspicions confirmed by Sterling of all people was a bit unsettling. He crossed his arms in front of his chest and looked at Sterling with doubt on his face.

.

"So let me get this straight. You and Eliot have a past even before we as a team have a past as a team and a past with you? And you didn't want to kill Eliot, but you would be perfectly okay with him going to jail if he had been overpowered by Quinn?"

"Actually, the plan was to knock Eliot out, keep him out of the picture and then sent him on his way. I had no idea he was already that attached to all of you," Sterling more or less confirmed Nate's summary. But the former insurance investigator again only snorted.

"And you actually expect me to believe this story?" he questioned, disbelief coloring his voice.

Sterling once again just shrugged.

"Believe whatever you want, Nate," he stated before walking the rest of the way to the bed, reaching into the inner pocket of his suit and pulling something out. Nate tensed again, somehow expecting that Sterling would pull out a gun or a knife or anything else he'd be able to hurt an unconscious Eliot with. Nate was ready to jump the other man if that was the case.

But to his immense surprise it was only a small leather necklace with a delicate looking arrowhead as a pendant. Nate thought he had seen the pendant somewhere before, but he couldn't say where.

Sterling took Eliot's pale hand and gently closed it around the necklace.

"Olivia thought you might need it more right now, but she has told me to tell you that she wants you to give it back to her personally," Jim said, clearly addressing Eliot and Nate watched the small scene with wide, disbelieving eyes. Sterling had never been so tender towards any of his team. He had the feeling that he saw a side of Sterling he had never seen before and once again he was amazed how a man with Eliot's reputation was so good at winning hearts and get people to care deeply for him. And now Nate's curiosity was peaked more than even before.

.

"Okay, I believe that you don't want to get us arrested right now, but I think you owe me an explanation," he demanded, his eyes once again traveling towards Eliot, who was still pale and motionless, not that he had expected the Hitter to move. But Nate hoped that that would soon change and that Eliot would show signs of waking.

"No, I don't really owe you an explanation, Nate," Sterling told him, the earlier warmth gone from his voice. Nate was about to protest when Sterling sat down in a chair beside Eliot's bed and then looked at his former colleague.

"But I'll give you an explanation anyway for Eliot's sake," he continued and Nate pulled his chair closer to the bed again, sitting on the opposite side of the bed as Sterling.

"I'm listening," he said, crossing his arms in front of his chest again. Jim took a deep breath.

"I guess I met Eliot in about the same situation than you did," Sterling explained and Nate wasn't even too surprised that Sterling knew about Nate's and Eliot's shared past. Sure, he and Sterling had never shared too much very private stuff, but Sterling had been around once when Eliot had visited Sam, but the Hitter had slipped out the back door, before Eliot and Sterling had come face to face with each other. But he didn't dwell on that thought too much, because Sterling continued.

"I knew that he had rescued Sam," Sterling explained, snorting at Nate's baffled look.

"Don't act too surprised, Nate. You know that I keep tabs not only on my enemies but also on my friends," he said, a small smirk on his face.

"And well, when I received the threatening letter, I knew I couldn't handle this on my own and then I tried to find Eliot Spencer. He was very reluctant to help at first, because you had told him a few things about me." Here Nate had to chuckle a little. Yeah, he had warned Eliot about Jim Sterling, because he hadn't wanted the Hitter to get into trouble with his colleague. Sterling obviously didn't find it too funny, because he glared at Nate.

"Anyway, he only agreed to help when I told him about the threats against Olivia. He..."

Sterling wanted to say more, but he couldn't, because suddenly the machines Eliot was hooked up to started beeping like crazy and Eliot's whole body seemed to tense up and then he started jerking around, spasms going through his whole body. Nate and Sterling were out of their chairs in seconds, both pushing down on Eliot's shoulders so that the other wouldn't fall out of the bed and hurt himself even more.

"Eliot!" Nate called, even though he wasn't sure if the other could even hear him, because his eyes were still closed and all the movements he did seemed to be involuntarily. Sterling reached out for the button to page the doctors, but that wasn't necessary, because suddenly three nurses and a doctor stormed into the room.

"Out of my way," the doctor yelled and Nate and Sterling complied immediately, even though every fiber of Nate's being told him to stay with the Hitter, but the last thing he wanted was to be in the way of the doctor and the nurses. One of the three nurses walked over to them.  
>"Please leave, so we can work properly," she said, her voice soft but stern and again Nate and Jim complied and left the room, but they stopped immediately outside, both looks of horror on their faces, because the last thing they heard before the door fell closed behind them was one of the nurses yelling: "Doctor, we're losing him..." and seconds later a "no heartbeat..."<p>

And then the door closed and in the hallway was only silence...

.

to be continued...

.

Well, again, I'm no doctor, so sorry for the poor medical vocabulary and descriptions... *sheepish smile*

And well, as I said in my A/N it goes even more AU, but I like Mark Sheppard and of course Sterling so much, so I hope you don't mind that I twisted his history with Eliot around too *another sheepish smile*

Comments would none the less be most appreciated *puppy dog eyes*


	6. Chapter 5

**A/N: **Wow, here finally comes an update. I know it has been a long time since I updated any of my stories *sighs sadly* and it's probably not the story most of you wait for... but at least it's an update *smiles sheepishly* but I'm really working on the new In the Darkness chapter, but I want it to be as good as possible *grins*

And I really hope you enjoy the new chapter, no matter if it's a little short *hopeful smile*

Comments would be most appreciated *puppy dog eyes*

.

Thank you to **TheNaggingCube, R3G3, Shingalala, McCoy's Secret Lover, Eldritch Fire, Yammy1983, fro-chan, Jesco123 and Kittendragon** for all your kind words for the last chapter *hugs you all*

.

**Warnings:** This story is totally AU, because Sam is alive in the story and so the team coming together will be under a little different circumstances, which will be explained throughout the story

.  
><strong>Disclainer:<strong> None of the Leverage characters belong to me and I just borrowed them for this little story... this story doesn't mean to offend anybody… this is just for fun… and not for money either...

.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 5<strong>

* * *

><p>.<p>

It had been twenty minutes since the doctors and nurses had ushered Nate and Sterling out of the room and Nate and Sterling were getting really worried. None of them said a word and the nurses that rushed in and out of the room barely spared them a glance, let alone answered any of their questions. They also prevented them from looking into the room.

Sterling was still pacing the hallway in agitation while Nate was too paralyzed with worry and fear to move at all. He knew that he should move, do something, call the others and let them know what was happening here, but Nate just couldn't bring himself to do anything of that. He was afraid that if he moved, something terrible was going to happen and that he wouldn't be here when the doctors were finally ready to tell them something.

.

Nate glanced at Sterling, his eyes the only part of his body that was ready to move. The other man really seemed concerned, a concept that Nate had never before associated with Jim. But just seeing his former colleague so agitated and worried started to convince the mastermind that Sterling had actually told the truth and that he really cared about Eliot, no matter how improbable that had seemed mere hours ago.

"You really worry about him, don't you?" he questioned, even though it wasn't a real question but more of a statement. Sterling simply snorted.

"Is that so hard to believe?" he wanted to know. Nate just looked at him incredulously at that.

"Kind of," he gave back.

Jim leaned against the wall and looked at Nate, running a hand over his face warily.

"By now you should really know that I'm really good at hiding things. And Eliot never told you about this, because he wanted to keep the team intact, especially in the beginning," Sterling explained softly and Nathan had to admit that that sounded like a perfectly reasonable explanation. The team's dynamic had been very fragile, especially when they had first gotten together and if Eliot had told them that he and Sterling had a friendly past, then that wouldn't have gone over well.

.

He wanted to ask more about that shared past between Eliot and Sterling, because that would give him a much needed distraction, but then the door to Eliot's hospital room opened again and this time a doctor walked out slowly, coming towards them, a grim expression on his face. Jim and Nate looked at each other, an uneasy feeling settling in their stomach. Nate ran a hand through his hair and gulped nervously. It didn't help when the doctor slowly shook his head and lowered his eyes, before he said that one sentence that pulled the floor from under Nate's feet.

"I'm sorry, but there is nothing we could do. Eliot is dead."

For a moment there was stunned silence between the three men, before Nate asked, no matter how stupid the question was: "What do you mean dead?"

Nate stared at the doctor in shock and Sterling seemed to be speechless for once.

.

The doctor looked sadly back and forth between the two men and after a short hesitation he put a hand on Nate's shoulder. Of course the doctor had seen how much Nate cared about Eliot and he generally hated to be the bearer of bad news.

"I'm really sorry, Mr. Ford, we did everything we could but in the end the damage to his lungs was just too severe and they collapsed. And there was nothing we could do to prevent that," he explained, hating how clinical he sounded, but as a doctor he knew how important that was to net get too attached to his patients and their friends and family or he'd never be able to do his job.

.

Nate just blinked and stared first at the hand on his shoulder and then at the face of the doctor. His whole body was tense and the mastermind just couldn't believe what the doctor had just told them.

Eliot couldn't be dead... Eliot Spencer was invincible.

But deep down Nate knew, that Eliot was everything and a lot of things, but invincible unfortunately wasn't one of that things, no matter how much he had seemed to be sometimes. Nate still had no idea what to say or what to do. The world around him seemed to have stopped, narrowed down to that one little fact, that seemed unimportant for most of the world, but it was the most important thing to Nate right now: Eliot was dead...

.

"Do you want one of the nurses to call someone?"

The doctor's words snapped Nate out of his trance a little and he shook his head wildly.

"I'll... I'll do that myself," Nate started and then he buried his head in his hands, before looking at Sterling, not sure why, but he just did.

"God... how am I going to tell them?" he murmured, closing his eyes, hoping against hope that in a few seconds he'd wake up in the uncomfortable plastic chair beside Eliot's bed and the hitter would still be alive.

A hand on his shoulder, different from the one before, stopped Nate from panicking completely. Sterling looked at him and Nate was surprised and almost shocked to see the grief on Jim's face and the unshed tears in his former colleagues eyes.

"Do you want me to call Maggie? Maybe she can tell the others," Sterling questioned and he might as well just have started speaking in an alien language, because that would have gotten the same kind of reaction from Nate... total disbelief.

Nate would never really have imagined that Jim Sterling could really care about one of his team so much. And yet, here he was, looking as broken up by Eliot's death as Nate did and trying to offer honest comfort, no matter what had happened between them.

.

And surprisingly that somehow helped Nate to focus for the time being.

"Thanks for the offer," he started, no matter that it was a little hard to say "thank you" to Sterling and then he continued: "But no, I'll call them and tell them myself. I owe as much to them... and I owe as much to Eliot."

Nate hesitated for another second and then he said with a small, sad smile: "And from what I gathered earlier, and if you were telling the truth, you have your own important phone call to make."

Sterling simply nodded and then he turned to the doctor.

"Can we... can we go and see Eliot?" he asked, his voice wavering a little and Nate looked at Jim in surprise. He hadn't even thought to ask about this, but he also wanted an answer to this question.

A weird expression crossed the doctor's face for a second and then he shook his head slowly.

"Not right now, maybe later... but believe me, the way he looks right now... that's not the way you want to remember Eliot," the doctor told them and Nate really wasn't sure what to think about that. But then again, maybe the doctor was right.

"But we can see him later, right?" he questioned, because he really wanted to say goodbye to Eliot. And he was pretty sure that the crew would want to say goodbye too.

.

The doctor had a small smile on his face and nodded without hesitation.

"Of course you can, Mr. Ford," he agreed.

"We'll let you know as soon as we're ready," he added, before sighing a little.

"And now you really need to excuse me, I have other patients to look after," he said and Nate and Sterling nodded in understanding.

"Of course, doctor, please let us know as soon as we can see Eliot," Sterling said and the doctor nodded and then he walked away to leave the two men alone with their grief.

Nate and Sterling watched him go and then Jim turned to Nate.

"Maybe we should make those calls now and then meet here afterward?" he suggested and added, when he saw the confused look on Nate's face.

"Right now I'm not your enemy. I'm here for Eliot, just like you are and you won't be greeted by FBI as soon as you're all here. I promise on my daughter's life," he explained and Nate, still a little in shock about the news, found himself believing the other man.

"I trust you, don't make me regret it," he demanded, even though there was also a little pleading in his voice and Jim gave him a rare, honest smile.

"I won't," he promised and again Nate found out that he believed Sterling. And then he straightened his shoulders, his face a mask of grief and sorrow, but still he held himself together.

"I'm going to make some calls. I'll see you later," Nate whispered and then he walked away from the room Eliot still was in, to make some of the hardest phone calls of his life...

.

* * *

><p>.<p>

Jim Sterling watched Nate walk away and his expression changed a little from grief to guilt.

"Believe it or not, Nate, but I'm really sorry about all of this. It needs to be done, however, for your safety and the safety of your team," he murmured and ran a hand through his short hair for a second. Then he slowly turned around and walked into the opposite direction from Nate.

He walked directly into a private wing of the hospital, where only authorized personnel was allowed and Sterling had to endure a retina scan, a fingerprint scanner and enter a security code before he had access to that wing.

.

Sterling sighed again when he stopped in front of a single room.

In front of the door stood two guards and one greeted Sterling with a slight nod, while the other gave a small salute.

"Everything is as requested, Mr. Sterling," the man informed and Jim nodded, feeling a little tired all of a sudden. He stepped closer to the door and looked through the small window in it. Inside the room two nurses were bustling around and a doctor, the same doctor that had told Nate and Sterling that Eliot was dead only a few minutes earlier, was checking vitals, nodding with a satisfied expression on his face.

Jim closed his eyes for a second and then he focused on the bed, where a pale figure with shoulder long brown hair lay, hooked up to all sorts of machines, but clearly not in a coma, just in a deep, healing sleep instead. Sterling let his eyes linger for a second, especially on the vitals that clearly showed that the patient was awake.

And then he turned away from the door with a grim expression on his face and one thought running through his mind.

_/I just hope that you know what you're doing and that this whole thing won't backfire on you, Eliot./_

_.  
><em>

to be continued...


End file.
